I “Stumbled” on this great post that lists the origins of all 30 Major League Baseball Teams. It appears the Boston Red Sox hold the oldest named team dating back to the 1860’s, popularized by the Cincinnati Red Stockings from 1867-1870 and used by Boston’s National League franchise from 1871-1876.

But the actual team name origin that’s with the same team is the San Francisco Giants, formerly the New York Giants, that dates back to 1885.

So I’m watching the game tonight and out of the blue comes a huge “BOOOOO” from the stadium. The crowd evidently didn’t agree with the umpire’s call of a strike against one of their own. Then the little black box appears on the lower right side of the telly screen and sure enough ….. that ball was a smidgen outside of that little black box, meaning, of course, it was definitely a ball and not a strike. Now how in the world did they know that? I mean those “boos” came instantly, no chance to second guess, just johnny-on-the-spot. The umpire was standing right there at the plate, and the crowd of some 40,00 was, shall we say, somewhere out in left field and they knew it was a bad call.

Cardinal Fans Most Knowledgeable

I remember posting back in 2011 about those Classy Cardinal Fans and how they’re not only the best fans in Major League Baseball, but also the most polite and the most “knowledgeable”. They won some sort of award for this as I recall. But, really, this humongous outpouring of boo’s tonight was instantaneous and it was the only time all night they booed. I don’t get it.

So when I log into WordPress to post this little ditty, the very first blog I see is none other than Craig Calcaterra on Hardball Talk, talking about this very thing ~ the Cardinal fans I mean. Take a look at what he says about it here and you’ll see what I mean.

Obstruction Call Tonight

And if you weren’t fortunate enough to watch the entire game (it was a good one!) take a look at Hardball Talk’s piece on the obstruction call that ended the game. You’ll be hearing lots more about this one. Wow! Whatta great game. Doesn’t get much better than this! Can’t wait for game time tomorrow!

Last night during the Giants and Red Sox game, it got really interesting in the bottom of the 8th. The score was 2-1, Red Sox in the lead. The Giants had a runner on third with one out when Buster Posey hit a corker out to right field that was foul, which Shane Victorino chose to catch rather than letting it land foul, thereby allowing the runner on third to score. Had the ball landed foul, it would have been dead, and the runner would have remained on third. As a result, the SF Giants, hugging the cellar in the NL West, were able to score, and then score again, and hang onto a 3-2 lead in the 9th to beat the Sox, who were leading the AL East prior to the game.

Immediately after the game a rather lively discussion about the Victorino catch ensued about whether he should or shouldn’t have caught that ball. Here’s the options discussed:

1. Because it was Buster Posey, reigning NL MVP, he could have hit the next pitch out of the park for a 3-run homer. Better to retire him now than risk it.

2. The play only allowed a tie game, it wasn’t a go-ahead run. They can get them next inning.

3. It was windy at the park, and there was a chance the ball, barely foul, might have blown back in-bounds. Better to catch it while you can.

Victorino said there was no question in his mind he was going to catch the ball, knowing full well the runner was going to score. His manager agreed with him. After the game the Giants manager, Bruce Bochy, agreed too. And today before the final game in the series, the announcers generally agreed it wasn’t even open for discussion. The only logical option available was to catch the ball and let the chips fall where they may.

Personally, I was totally confused for the rest of the game. For some reason I didn’t think the runner could score on that caught foul ball. I’ve spent all morning looking through the MLB Rulebook and couldn’t find a thing about it and, of course, if that were true we’d be having a completely different discussion today. So be it. And so now it’s back to my pesky little scorebook to try and figure out how to record the darned thing. Never a dull moment in baseball, even in the most boring of games, last night not being one of them.

I’m trying to record the Boston Pops Annual 4th of July Spectacular today, only to find out they won’t be televising it this year. Every time they hit that big crescendo and the gigantic flag unfurls to the wild applause of the audience, my emotions take over. It gets me every time.

So this is my contribution to those who have made this a tradition in their family for years but won’t be able to watch it today. It’s one of the items left on my bucket list ~ to watch a live Boston Red Sox and SF Giants day game on the 4th of July followed by a trip to the Boston Pops “live” 4th of July Spectacular, if it’s still around I mean. I wonder who makes the decision to cancel such a wonderful televised event and interfere with family traditions?

Here’s the 2012 update to our 2011 listing published August 27, 2011. This comes to us compliments of USA Today. If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries. It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs; in other words, did they get what they paid for?For example; the Washington Nationals have the best record in the Majors this year, but have the 11th Lowest Salary out of 30 Teams. Salary Chart Linked Here

Sorry. I just had to do this. It’s really an excerpt of my previous blog, but this little paragraph in Jim Caple’s commentary deserves a special place of its own. Read it, embellish it and swirl it around in your mind so you can remember it when confronted with footballisms, guaranteed to happen these next few months.

Baseball caps: They are as quintessential, ubiquitous and indispensible an American apparel item as a pair of blue jeans, especially if you’re losing your hair. They are the greatest U.S. export other than democracy, jazz and stifling consumer debt. Travel anywhere in the world and you will see people wearing baseball caps, though unfortunately they occasionally bear Yankees or Red Sox logos (what, do no Belgians root for the Brewers?). They are worn by everyone from rappers to astronauts, from President Obamato Pope Benedict. And what is the first thing football players do at the start of their NFL careers? That’s right — they don a baseball cap on draft day.

Meanwhile, I don’t see anyone wearing football helmets, even on the absolute worst bad hair day imaginable.

Here’s the 2011 update to our 2010 Major League Baseball listing published November 22, 2010. This comes to us compliments of USA Today. If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries. It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs; in other words, did they get what they paid for?

"The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series." - Tommy Lasorda

"You teach me baseball and I’ll teach you relativity.... You will learn about relativity faster than I learn baseball." - Albert Einstein

"Baseball is a game of race, creed, and color. The race is to first base. The creed is the rules of the game. The color? Well, the home team wears white uniforms, and the visiting team wears gray."
Joe Garagiola

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DISCLAIMER

GARLICFRIESANDBASEBALL is written by a long-time fan who simply loves the game. I write my own articles (hence the grammar and occasional misspellings). If I include an article from another source, credit is given to that source and will include links when appropriate. The opinions are my own.